New Employee Orientation Survey
Summary Report
INTRODUCTION
Following
are findings in the on-going research The Training Clinic began in 1985.
A few new trends are noted in this year's (1999) survey.
50 organizations responded to the survey and represent an even split of
manufacturing (including high tech manufacturing) and the not-for-profit sector
(including government organizations, public transportation and utilities).
Over half of the respondents have more than 1000 employees, while 45%
represent employers of less than 500 employees.
The survey
results that follow are compared to a similar survey conducted in 1993.
GENERAL
IMPRESSION OF ORIENTATION
The general
impression and quality of the new employee orientation (NEO) conducted in these
organizations was said to be "Excellent" to "Good" by 90%. The 1993 survey reported “Excellent” to “Good” by
75%. All 1999 respondents said NEO
is very important /important to both the organization and the new employees.
The 1993 respondents said the same.
In 1999, 75% reported "strong" to "good" management
support for NEO. In 1993, 70%
reported “strong” to “good” management support for NEO.
PROGRAM
DETAILS
Number of employees who attend
orientation:
Orientation
seems to be a personalized process with 40% reporting groups of 1-5 employees
attending orientation together. 30%
had groups of 6-12 new employees while another 30% had more than 12 employees
attend an orientation. Similar
information was reported in 1993.
Who
conducts orientation?
Human
Resources conducts 95% of all orientations, while half of the organizations
had the additional participation of operational personnel.
Similar information was reported in 1993.
How often is orientation held?
How long is orientation and over what period of time is it conducted?
Orientation
was held most often on a weekly basis. Over
64% said they conducted orientation on an "as needed" basis.
The majority of organizations held orientation in one day or less,
while 34% conduct an orientation over 2-5+ days.
This supports The Training Clinic's recommended view of orientation as
a process, rather than an event. For
those who conduct orientation over time, 12% reported a 2-4 week period for
orientation, 8% over six months and 6% over 12 months.
Similar information was reported in 1993.
When
does orientation start?
64%
reported that orientation begins on the first day of employment.
The remainder reported orientation being conducted when hired, during
the first week or during the first month.
The 1993 survey reported 80% of orientation beginning during the first
week and most of that during the first day.
Where
is orientation held?
In the
1999 survey, 86% conduct orientation in a classroom setting while 28% conduct
NEO at the job site and the remainder use an off-site location.
Who attends orientation?
When asked
which employee groups attend orientation, 100% said full-time professional
employees, 98% said full-time hourly, 76% reported attendance by part time
employees, 44% reported temporary employees attend orientation and 30%
reported "transferred" employees attend orientation.
One organization reported external vendors are permitted to attend NEO.
The increased attendance of part-time and temporary employees at NEO
from previous surveys will be interesting to track as an emerging trend.
Who
are guest speakers?
78% of
respondents use guest speakers to address new employees.
Speakers were usually addressed by benefits and safety personnel most
often. 36% used executives
(CEO/CFO) as guest speakers. This
figure is up from the 1993 survey which reported executive participation at
30%.
What is
done prior to the first day of work?
Greater
preparation for the arrival of new employees seems more evident than in past
surveys. The 1993 survey showed
18% of the organizations making no preparations prior to the first day.
In the 1999 survey all organizations did some preparation including,
80% receive a welcome letter while additional internal preparation is
completed. Different preparation techniques include:
¨
62% prepare the work area and schedule training for the new
employee
¨
64% have a computer and credit cards ordered
¨
42-46% of companies provide relocation kits, and order business
cards and other supplies.
What type of
materials are sent before the first day?
62-68%
sent information to the new employee prior to the first day that included
reporting directions and confirmation of their position and salary.
Only 6% of companies sent no information prior to the first day.
The practice of sending information prior to the first day seems to be
on the increase from other survey years.
In 1993 16% of organizations reported not sending any information to
the employee before the first day.
What materials are
given during orientation?
In the
1999 survey results, when asked what written materials were provided during
orientation, 72-96% of companies provided written materials from Human
Resources about benefits, vacation, retirement and employee assistance
programs. 72% provided
organizational history and an employee handbook. 2% reported no materials
distributed during orientation. In
the 1993 survey results, 69% received an employee handbook and 59% received
information about the organization’s history.
4% received no written materials in 1993.
Who
is responsible to conduct specific topics?
When
identifying who is responsible for presenting specific parts of orientation,
human resources was most often responsible for benefits, induction paperwork,
organizational history, policies and procedures, corporate culture and
organizational structure. The new
employee's supervisor was most often responsible for relating performance
expectations, department function, computer, skills and/or customer service
training, as well as an overview of any quality programs.
Shared responsibilities included safety briefings, tours and
information about products/services.
How critical is the
supervisor’s role in NEO? What support do supervisors provide?
98% said
the supervisor's role was very critical to the success of NEO.
However, only 28% said supervisory support was "great".
66% said there was ”some" support and 14% said there was little
support for orientation. Past
surveys have noted the importance of supervisory support.
What methods are
used during NEO?
The most
frequently used methods to transmit NEO information are lecture and a tour.
From past surveys, there was an increase in organizations using
self-study methods with 30% encouraging new employees to take the lead in
orienting themselves. 40% of
organizations report use of the internet/intranet for orientation.
How is NEO
evaluated?
One of the
most interesting trends since The Training Clinic has reported NEO survey
information is the increase in organizations that measure the results of NEO
for bottom line results. 16% review turnover statistics, 6% review accident/safety
records and 6% review increased productivity indicators with 2% tracking
grievance statistics.
DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS
Survey
respondents were asked: "if you could redesign your orientation program
from scratch without concern for time or cost, what would you do?"
They replied, (“X” represents repetition of the idea)
XXXX
Video, redo video, multimedia approach, Redo visuals
XXXX
More professional looking materials
XXXX
Use Guest Speakers, executive participation, experts
XXXX
Making it more of a process
XXX
More interactive
XX
Allow tour of major facilities
X
Train supervisors, supervisory involvement
X
Special lunch, provide food
X
Reduce time, simplify
X
Use computer-based orientation, use internet/intranet
Minimum 2-day program before employee is released to work site
More interactive
Organization chart with key executive photos displayed
Spanish translation
Get everyone together at same time
Hire in batches
Goals and objectives
Incorporate skills training during first week
More
efficient way to handle paperwork
Evaluate
to see if we are improving
When was
your program initially designed?
22% before 1990
20% between
1991-1995
41% between
1996-1999
When
was your program redesigned?
12% before
1997
26%
in 1998
42%
in 1999
What
resources were used?
38%
internal resources only
54%
combination of internal and external resources
What
did it cost to develop your orientation program?
Only
20% kept track of expenses.
Of
those, 7 organizations spent between $100-$2,000.
Three
organizations spent $10,000 or more.
In 1993 The
average “out-of-pocket” for internally designed programs was $6420.
How
many design or development hours did it take to create your program?
40%
kept track of development hours.
Ten
organizations spent 20 hours or less.
Three
organizations took between 21-50 hours and seven organizations took between
50 and 160 development hours.
Three
organizations reported a development process that occurred over one to two
years
and reported no specific estimate of development hours.
In
1993, The average number of design hours was 82 for internal personnel.
Fewer than 20% kept track of design time.
